Shadows of Time and Death
by Kate Maxwell
Summary: A strange radio broadcast is heard during flight, and The Doctor gets curious but will this be the end of the Time Lord? Doctor 10, Donna Noble. Crossover with Silent Hill
1. Chapter 1

**Shadows of Time and Death**

_A Halloween Special Tale_

Chapter One - What is that strange noise?

It was just another, could you call it normal in the TARDIS?, well it was another day in the Time Lord's ship travelling through the time vortex while inside its vast size was the Doctor himself and his latest companion, Donna Noble.

Breakfast had finished just a short while ago, and now the Doctor could be found working away in the Control Room.

He was pacing around the central column as it pulsed the steady green glow but not everything was right with the wonderful ship. The Doctor was running a hand through his hair, making it spike up and muttering to himself as he worked above and below the controls.

"I don't get it, it shouldn't be flashing yet it is... there that button, it's flashing and if it was built to flash then why is it there?" The Doctor mumbled to himself, his glasses on as he looked between the button in question and the screen in front of him before running around the controls, adjusting them then returned to the screen and the flashing button.

"Have you tried pushing the button?" Donna asked from where she watched close by, a cup of tea in her hand. She had just finished her breakfast and now watched the Time Lord working on his TARDIS until a button distracted him.

"But I don't get it Donna, that button has never flashed! Never, and yet there it is! Flashing" Doctor replied, pointing at the button and looked at the screen covered in spirals and other weird symbols that never made any sense to the red head companion.

"But maybe she's trying to tell you something, to push the button and see what happens" Donna suggested and sipped her tea, waiting to see what the Doctor would do now.

The Doctor looked around at his controls again, walking around them this time instead of running. He took his glasses off and chewed at the end of them in a thoughtful tone muttering to himself, feeling the ship pulse around him as he did so.

"Well better hang onto something then, I don't know what will happen" The Doctor spoke up eventually and pressed down on the button.

A loud siren filled the air, but no siren that Donna had heard the TARDIS do before and by the way the Doctor was reacting, he never heard that sort of alarm come from his beloved ship before.

Donna listened as it whined down then back up again, like a constant drone. She frowned in thinking she heard it before but couldn't put her finger on it as it faded away and was replaced by a loud static.

"Doctor, what is that?" She asked, as the static filled the control room.

"It's a message, trying to get through the TARDIS's shields but I'm having a hard time trying to lock on to it.... oh here we go!" The Doctor replied, hitting a panel with the rubber mallet.

"..... to me, please..... find me at.....ill. I'm waiting...." A broken voice came through the static, the Doctor frowned at the screen and worked around trying to fix the source of the signal.

He pulled out his stethoscope, pressing it against the screen before adjusting a few of the controls with either his foot or free hand. The TARDIS shook as she flew through the time vortex while Donna continued to hold herself up with one of the support columns, her mind battling to remember why she had heard that sound before.

The Doctor cheered and the TARDIS landed with a mighty bump, "Well now, shall we go out there and see who sent us the mysterious call?" He asked, getting up onto his feet quickly helping Donna back onto her own before bouncing off to the door.

He was getting his coat on and waited for his friend to catch him up, "Are you sure it's safe out there Doctor? That sound, that siren, it didn't sound right" Donna replied as she joined him.

"Nothing we can't face together Donna, you know that right?" The Doctor asked with a grin, offering his hand wiggling his fingers a little.

Donna smiled a little and nodded, "Oh alright spaceman, let's see what's out there" She replied taking his hand and let him pull her outside into the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

**Shadows of Time and Death**

**Chapter Two**

Harriott screamed again at the top of her lungs, calling out for her lost lover amongst the thick fog that choked the town and its surroundings.

A young woman in her early thirties had been wandering around this strange town for what felt like days but according to her watch it had only been three hours since she had been separated from Desmond, they had crashed into something so he had climbed out to look around but disappeared into the fog.

"Desmond!" She called again, coughing harshly from her throat drying up with her long black hair falling over her shoulders and face. She pushed it back, her light brown eyes shinning with unshed tears and determination as she searched the street around her.

She saw a cafe appear through the mist, Sunnyvale Café it read on the sign above the door, Harriott walked over to see if it was open rubbing her arms through her thin summer jacket and tried the door finding it unlocked.

Trying the light switch, she found that the lights worked to her relief and went to search through the cafe hoping to find something or someone that might have seen her partner.

The Doctor looked around, tucking his hands into his pockets keeping the TARDIS at his back. "Well that's something" He muttered looking at the fog cutting them off from whatever view they could have.

"More like nothing, there is nothing around here" Donna replied, hugging her coat close to her as she kept close to the blue phone box that the spaceship disguised itself as.

The Doctor glanced back at his companion, "Still, it smells like we're on earth and close to the ocean maybe? I don't know, can't quiet get a feel of this place" He said, tugging at his long coat from where his hands were still in the pockets.

"Why don't we go back inside and see what your ship says about this place, something about this fog is creeping me out!" Donna muttered, leaning against the ship now as she didn't want to leave herself any more vulnerable than necessary.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, breathing in the air and walked in small circles as the TARDIS lit her light a little unsure what to make of this area herself.

"Well the old girl doesn't like this area either, and she hasn't been like that since we last met Captain Jack... then that landed us in...." He faded away spinning around, "Did you just hear that?"

"Hear what? All I heard was your...." Donna's voice faded away as she heard a distant scream.

The Doctor looked around, "You did hear that, come on" He said, racing forward to grab her hand and ran off with her towards the scream.

"I don't think this is a good idea!" Donna replied as she fought to keep up with him, his hand still holding hers as they ran along the streets and stopped at a crossroads.

"Which way" The Doctor muttered looking between three roads.

"How about we head back to the TARDIS? Like you said, it got you into trouble last time she didn't like the area" Donna replied, feeling that this would be another crazy adventure with the Time Lord.

"Where's your adventurous spirit?" The Doctor asked with a grin.

"Back in my bedroom today, must have left it in my other coat" Donna muttered, glaring at The Doctor before sighing and looked around to where they stopped.

"Just don't wander off too far" The Doctor warned her as he followed close behind her, seeing a sealed up newsagents and a flower shop on the corner. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, thinking that they've ended up in a deserted town.

"These flowers, they're fake" Donna muttered, touching the flowers and a fine layer of dust came off them. "Ugh! And dusty" She replied and tried to get the dust off her fingers.

"That's not dust Donna" The Doctor said, taking out his glasses to get a better look at the fake flowers. "Can you taste that in the air? It's like when we were in Pompeii, it's ash" He said, rubbing his fingers along the fake flowers leaving his fingers grey with the volcanic ash.

"Ash? As in volcanic ash?" Donna asked, worried that they would have to try and find a way out of this supposedly deserted town.

"I guess so, we should head back to the TARDIS... see what she does make of this" The Doctor replied, offering his clean hand to his friend before leading the way back to the ship.

"What about that scream?" Donna asked as they walked back along the streets they had ran along a few short minutes ago.

"Not a sign of anyone around here, now that's strange... there wasn't a wall here before" The Doctor replied and stopped in seeing a big white wall blocking off the wall.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Donna asked, wondering if they had took a wrong turning somewhere and went over the route in her head. She walked up to the wall and ran her hands along it hoping for some sort of clue.

"I'm sure of it, I sensed the ship this way and I headed this way but now there's this wall! It doesn't make any sense..." The Doctor muttered, looking around the area with his glasses still on his face.

Donna looked around and pointed out the signpost, "Well it says that Fortune Street is to the right of this road... so maybe if we go that way, we can find a way past this wall" She replied, offering some type of assistance to her travelling friend.

The Doctor shrugged, "Worth a try" He said taking his glasses off, putting them back in his pocket and led the way along the street. His mind buzzing as he tried to feel out for his ship, wondering what exactly was going on in this town.

* * *

Harriott quickly slammed the large white door shut, using all the strength she could muster to seal the thick metallic door shut. She moved back and jumped in feeling the counter used by the chef to prepare and cook the meals the cafe once must have served, hit her back.

"What kind of place is this...." She muttered, gasping for breath in remembering the horrid sight she had just seen before going back to searching around for any sort of clue or hint to where her lover had gone.

"Oh Desmond, I hope you're safe" Harriott muttered, finding a map of the town on the table. She opened it up and looked, taking a pencil and put it in her pocket too. She muttered to herself and trailed her fingers along the road that she had been following.

Using the pencil, she wrote a few notes on the map to remind herself where their car was, which way she had gone and where she had searched. What confused Harriott the most was the strange white walls that seem to close her off, almost like pushing her to different places further and further into the town.

"Well no use staying here..." She said, folding up the map and headed out of the back door but heard a strange hissing as she left the cafe.

* * *

"Is that a radio?" Donna asked, hearing a strange hissing noise coming from one of the bins close by.

The Doctor stopped and listened, "Sounds like it, but where is it coming from?" He muttered and looked around, walking up to one of the bins and put his hand in to search the contents.

"Did you have to Doctor? I hope you wash your hands before you think about touching me again" Donna said with disgust, watching him pull out a old fashioned portable radio.

"Donna, be serious this could be something" The Doctor replied and looked over the radio. "Well it's trying to tune into something but what?"

"....r I'm here.... to me..... side Hotel" A voice spoke up through the heavy static before it went silent.

"That's that same voice we heard before" Donna said remembering hearing that voice before, followed by that strange sound that she still couldn't figure out.

"A hotel? Well maybe we'll find some clues there" The Doctor replied and stuffed the radio into his pocket, "Let's see if we can find that hotel" He said with a grin and led off down to the street on their right.

* * *

Harriott punched the wall in frustration, "Another wall!" She muttered and got the map out, to make a note of this new wall.

She looked to see which way this fog was pushing her but all she could see was a coastline road coming up soon, "Is it pushing me into the ocean?" She muttered to herself.

After finding a radio that seemed to be broken but pocketed it anyway, she continued to try and search for her partner but was always blocked off by locked shop doors or these mysterious white walls.

She leaned against the wall and looked at the map, wondering where to search next.

"Harriott.... Harriott, come to me" A male voice spoke out from the thick fog.

"Desmond... Desmond, is that you?" Harriott called moving away from the wall, looking around trying to find where the voice was coming from.

"Harriott, come to me" Desmond's voice called.

"I'm here! I'm here Desmond, where are you" Harriott replied, holding onto the map tightly in her hand. The panic in her voice making it high pitch and croaky, as she continued to search for her lover.

"I'm in a field of dreams, come and find me" Desmond's voice muttered in a soft whisper, fading away into the fog.

"Desmond! Don't go, don't leave me all alone!" Harriott called running off along the road to her left, the map screwed up in her hand as she continued to run.

* * *

The Doctor stopped and listened, "Do you hear that?" He muttered, listening around the next crossroads they had found.

Donna listened but all she could hear was their own breathing, "No, nothing... it's like this fog is blocking everything out" She replied, worried that they would never find their way back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor sighed, running a hand over his face. "Was afraid you say that, I can't hear anything either... it is this fog or mist or whatever it is" He said waving his hand in the air, hoping to batter some of the thick cloud away.

Donna sighed, "Look, there's another cafe... there sure seem to be a lot of them here, that's the third one I've seen" She replied, looking up at the banner above the cafe.

The Doctor frowned, reading the banner. "Actually Donna, I think its the same one... but how is that possible?" He muttered, "Sunnyvale Café"

"Maybe something's telling us to go in?" Donna replied looking up at the Doctor, who was staring at the banner above the door. "Doctor?"

The Doctor shook his head, "It's worth a try, see if we can find something to help us... a map would be brilliant right now" He said and led the way inside.

"Here's another thing though, why call it Sunnyvale? It's not exactly sunny is it, and from what we've seen it's not in any kind of valley" The Doctor started to ramble as they walked into the cafe, he went over to see if anyone was around while Donna took in the sight around them.

Tables and chairs were all set up ready for customers, while in the corner was a stand filled with different pamphlets with a pay phone set up close by. She walked over and flipped through them, "I think it's called Silent Hill Doctor, this town..."

The Doctor came back over to her and looked over her shoulder, "Silent Hill? Can't be serious" He muttered, taking a map and slipped his glasses on to look over the map.

"Well explains why it's so quiet, with a name like that" Donna replied, letting the alien work while she continued to look around.

"Donna, don't wander off" The Doctor warned her, as he bent over the map taking it in and trailed the route with one of his fingers.

"I won't leave the cafe" Donna muttered, after taking a few of the pamphlets and wandered off into the kitchen to see what else she could find.

* * *

A loud siren filled the air, echoing and tearing through the thick fog. It warned of something bad was coming, and it was coming quickly.

As the siren continued to grow and fade around the town, something terrible was happening to the town. It grew dark, so dark that light didn't have a chance to scream before it was engulfed by the darkness.

* * *

Harriott looked around in confusion and screamed when the darkness took over, she searched her pockets and found a lighter. She used it to try and see what was happening and wished she didn't, the walls were peeling like they were on fire, being burnt away to reveal burnt walls that were red raw underneath.

Cries and moans could be heard all around her, the hair on the back of her neck rose as she felt something or someone watching her making her look around and screamed again in seeing small golden eyes watching her from behind chain-link fencing.

She ran off along the road, trying to keep the lighter ahead of her to light the way through the darkness as the cries and moans got louder around her.

* * *

"Doctor!" Doctor, where are you!" Donna screamed, as the darkness filled the cafe.

In the corner a jukebox lit up to life echoing the screams and cries from outside, static filling the air amongst it.

"Donna!" The Doctor called back, searching his pocket and found a flash light. He switched it on and rushed over to his companion's side, who hugged him tightly.

"What is going on?" Donna asked as she hugged the Doctor, who looked around at where they stood seeing the walls peel away to reveal a strange red texture underneath.

"I don't know, but we should get out of here... I found the hotel, we should move there" The Doctor said, taking Donna's hand into his own before retrieving the map. He used the torch to see by, and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"Please tell me you don't feel that" Donna muttered from where she held onto his arm.

"I do, we better run... it's just a few streets away" The Doctor replied and led the way to their right, hearing the strange screaming and cackling of unseen figures close by. Inside his pocket, the radio was hissing loudly as they continued to run.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shadows of Time and Death**

**Chapter Three**

The Doctor held onto Donna's hand as they ran with the torch beam bouncing as he tried to find the way though the darkness. "I don't understand this! Why is it so dark and so quickly?" He muttered as he kept his friend close to her.

Donna held onto his hand tightly, fighting to keep up with the long legged Time Lord. She kept looking side to side, hearing the strange screaming and crying all around them, "W-what is that?" She replied breathlessly.

The Doctor glanced around, using his torch and shook his head. "We've got to get to that hotel, we're almost there" He said, slowing his pace down a little before they ran into a metallic chain link fence.

Crawling all along the fence, using the chain links as foot and hand holds were small baby like figures. The torchlight shone on them, revealing that they were dark grey in colour with beady yellow eyes making them flinch and wonder what kind of creature that was.

"Doctor" Donna muttered as she held his hand tighter, moving them both to stand in the middle of the alleyway that they were running through seeing the fence either side of them.

"Just keep close Donna, we have to be close" The Doctor replied juggling the torch in his hand to pull his coat closer to him, actually doing it up for once before picking the pace back up as he wanted to get them both to this hotel quickly.

* * *

  
Harriott screamed and ran, grabbing a pipe and swung it as she continued to run through the darkness. Her lighter had burned out and now she just wanted to get inside but each door she had tried was locked. She tried to smash the windows but she saw the small grey monsters were there in every way she went.

She crashed into the fencing and screamed again feeling her throat being torn by her own voice, swatting away at the monsters and was shocked to feel her hand pass through them.

Harriott gasped and continued to run, bouncing off the fencing until she crashed through one of the gates. She gasped her breath and looked up at the building, "Oh please let me in there" She muttered and ran ahead almost crying when the door opened and let herself in.

She slammed the door closed behind her and found a small light sat in the corner, rushing over to it she was happy to discover that it was a small bicycle light that would clip on her jacket pocket.

Using the light of her new torch, she was able to look around seeing that it was a trashed lobby of a hotel. There was a small office to the side, she held onto the pole tightly in her other hand and slowly made her way across wondering what was inside the office.

* * *

  
The Doctor brought his torch around in a swing, knocking one of what they decided to call ash babies aside as it covered them in dust.

They had started leaping at them, covering them in the ash that they were made up of.

"Must be the TARDIS, she is protecting us still" He reasoned as they stopped outside a tall building, using the torch to try and find where they were.

"I-is this it?" Donna muttered looking at where the torch was lighting up the faded writing on the side of the building.

"It has to be! Come on" The Doctor replied pulling her towards the gate, giving it a swift and powerful kick seeing it give way before leading the way inside.

They quickly worked on locking the door and heard the dull thuds of the ash babies hitting the thick doors, Donna sighed and turned around sinking down onto the ground feeling her legs throb.

The Doctor used the torchlight to look around to see where they had landed, he saw that the stairs leading up to the higher levels were clear but as he walked closer to them he discovered that they were closed off. He sighed and ran a hand over his face, feeling a little tired from this puzzle since receiving the message from the TARDIS.

"Stairs are no good" He told his friend and walked over to try the door to the rooms on the ground floor, throwing his shoulder against it a little. "Doors are locked and barricaded"

"Seems the area is closed, anything here?" Donna asked, getting back up onto her feet fishing in her pockets for her phone. She used the pale light to search the reception desk, shifting through the papers checking them briefly while the Doctor climbed around to search around the area.

"Nothing that I can see so far, there has to be something... if we got pushed this way" The Doctor replied and listened closely.

"Are you hearing that?" Donna asked, looking up at him from where she searched the papers letting them fall back onto the table.

The Doctor nodded and walked over to the main entrance, slowly pressing his ear against the door with the torch shinning down at his feet. He listened and backed away, "There's something on the other side, quick grab that bench! We'll have to push it up against here and hope for the best"

Donna quickly pulled up the bench, he quickly ran over to help her and they pressed it against the door. "What if it's someone else?" She asked and gasped when the door shuddered violently making them jump back before pushing against the bench and the doors.

The Doctor shook his head and held onto the bench, feeling his feet slipping on the ground. "I don't think they're friendly Donna" He replied, fighting to keep his weight against the bench as the door kept shuddering violently with each blow.

Donna pushed against the bench, "You think spaceman!" She groaned.

The door shuddered a few more times before the air was filled with the siren once more, making the Time Traveller and his companion cover their ears and soon the door stopped with light filling the hotel lobby.

The Doctor sighed and sunk onto the floor, sitting on the bench heavily. "Remind me to change my shoes once we get back to the TARDIS, these have worn down" He muttered, his head in his hands with the torch forgotten on the floor.

"Wonder what that was" Donna muttered looking back at the door as she joined him on the bench. "At least the darkness has gone" She added and got up to continue searching the lobby in the better light.

"For now, it will be back... something just feels wrong here Donna, I can barely sense her through all this confusion" The Doctor said softly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "I don't know what it is but that just now... but it was like the darkness just took over, all could do was keep calm and work through one problem at a time"

Donna stopped and looked over at her friend, "Are you alright Doctor? Maybe we should try and find the restaurant to get you a drink" She said walking over with a file in her hand and sat down on the bench, rubbing her hand up and down his back.

The Doctor sighed, "I'll be fine Donna, once I can figure out what is going on here" He said with a small forced smile.

"OK Doctor, try and not and think about that at the moment... how about explaining it to me what Silent Hill is?" Donna suggested as she continued to rule his back in a small soothing circles.

"I don't know much because I don't believe in the paranormal but the stories are that this use to be a thriving town... a mining town but then one day a accident happened and caused a fire" The Doctor explained with a sigh and got up to pace a little.

"That fire, or so the stories go, still burns today but that doesn't explain all of this! To why this town seems to be alive, twisting reality and space"

"It just feels wrong! I can feel the planet still spinning under my feet but time has seemed to have stopped... just hurts to feel that! And the TARDIS.... my poor ship, I can barely feel her in my mind" He continued to speak, his coat his coat flowing around him as he continued to pace with his hands spiking his hair up.

Donna let the file fall to the floor and got up onto her feet, "Doctor, it's OK we'll get through this" She said stopping his pace and pulled him into a hug. "We'll find the TARDIS and we can go anywhere you like! I'm sure your ship is fine"

The Doctor sighed and returned the hug, hiding his head in her hair. "Thank you Donna, I'm so sorry that I dragged you into this" He muttered and looked down at the file on the ground.

Looking down at the file, it had fallen open to reveal a few printed emails and a colourful map of the town. "What is that?" The Doctor said softly, breaking free of the comforting hug and bent down to look through the file.

He retrieved his glasses and pulled the map out, "It's just a map, you've got one in your pocket haven't you?" Donna asked, looking over his shoulder.

"But this one is different... I just..." He got up and wandered over to the table, he stared at the map wondering why it was different to the one he had in his pocket.


	4. Chapter 4

**Shadows of Time and Death**

**Chapter Four**

Finding her way through the thick fog, past the white stone walls that continued to block her way. Harriott soon heard the sound of water lapping up against the dirt that formed the banks, she ran towards the sound and crashed straight into a black metallic gate surrounding the shoreline of a enormous lake.

Shinning her torch at the display close to her, she read:

_You are now here – Toluca Lake _

_You may hire out a boat to cross the lake for the amusement part and Dreams Holiday Camp. _

Reading the display map, Harriott wrote down the places on her own map before hearing the loud siren fill the air once more, biting back a cry of despair she ran along the gravel path heading towards the boat house.

* * *

  
Having worked together to solve the strange riddle, they both realized that they needed to find another hotel for more clues to finding the lost Time Lord ship.

"Come on, we better follow this map as well as the once we found in the cafe... need to find the TARDIS and get out of here" The Doctor said softly as they moved the bench away from the door, unlocking it manually and stepped out into the foggy, ash filled streets of the town.

Donna followed close behind, she was worried for the Doctor but wasn't sure what she could do for him asides from what she was doing now, being there at his side for when he needed her.

"Stay close Donna" The Doctor muttered as they stopped at a crossroads.

Looking at the map and the street signs, they went right and hoped that they would find the hotel soon.

"What do you think those sirens mean?" Donna asked, looking at the boarded up shops as they walked along the street.

"Not too sure... a warning maybe, something to tell someone about whatever had happened a short while ago" The Doctor replied and sighed when they came to another crossroads.

"What did you think it was? You saw what happened as much as I did" He asked as they chose to go forward.

"I don't know, it was like the walls just peeled away... like the world around us transformed into a living and breathing passageway to Hell" Donna replied and realized that they were starting to climb up hill.

"Do you believe in that? I've met Satan... well in a way but never mind that now, we've just got to find out what is going on here and find the TARDIS" The Doctor said as he shone the torch down at the map. "It is strange but we will get out of here"

"I know we will" Donna replied and shone the torch she had borrowed from him around the streets, "It is strange isn't it? A proper ghost town... abandoned and forgotten"

"Well it's a town that has been abandoned like I said earlier, something terrible happened and so they just did what humans normally do in a situation like that... flee instead of moving away and come back to try and carry on with their lives" The Doctor said and sighed softly, ignoring the pangs deep down inside of him as he tried to reach out for his ship.

Donna walked up to his side and rested a hand on his arm, looking up at him. "Come on, can't be much further to the hotel that we're looking for" She said with a soft smile and patted his arm before walking ahead of him.

The Doctor smiled a little and followed his companion.

* * *

  
Harriott worked by poor candle light and torchlight to see around the boat house, she found a boat and started to check for leaks and found a can of fuel, putting that into the boat. She pushed against the boat, hearing the lake on the other side of the double doors.

She thought that the darkness was coming again when she heard the siren but as she ran towards the boathouse, Harriott saw a police car had appeared from the thick fog and crashed into the lamp post.

Looking inside the police car, she saw that there was no sign of the driver which confused the young woman. But now she was inside the boat house, wanting to find a way to cross the lake even though the thought of crossing the eerie lake terrified her.

"Harriott... I'm here! Waiting for you... come to me!" A low male voice called out amongst the fog, pulling her towards the lake.

"I'm coming Desmond, just wait for me please" She replied, a solitary tear sliding down her cheek as she continued to push the boat into the water.

* * *

"Well welcome to Red Elm on A Hill.... what a strange name, but what a hill!" The Doctor announced with a grin, looking at his companion then out at the view the hotel's main entrance gave.

They were able to look out over part of the city, making out forests surrounding them and distant lights of what looked like a theme park. The thick ash like fog reminded them of a thin blanket thrown over rocks, letting the jagged rocks poke through the thin fabric.

"I still stay it's creepy, why are we here anyway Doctor?" Donna asked, resting her hands on her knees. She had got into better shape since joining the Doctor on his adventures but the steep hill was breathtaking to her, watching her energetic friend made her wonder how much it would take to exhaust him.

"Well that map we found in that inn told us to come here, and I never regret a invitation" The Doctor replied and looked at the gate blocking their way into the hotel grounds. A big rusty lock sat on the gates, "Well we can't have that now!" He muttered pulling out his sonic screwdriver and tried his best to unlock the gate.

With a quick buzz of the device, the lock came undone and fell to the ground with a loud clunk letting the gate swing open with a squeak.

Donna looked around as they walked up to the main doors, taking in the hotel as they stepped into it's shadow.

It reminded the temp of the haunted Victorian houses she saw on Television, ones where crazy teams of people would enter and scream when they saw ghosts or something fell on them. She tried to keep her breathing quiet but was sure that her companion could hear the heartbeat, that was thudding loudly in her chest.

Looking up at the old fashioned porch, there was artwork carved into the very wood as The Doctor moved his hand to the handle and pushed it down.

"Well, I guess we let ourselves in" He breathed, wiping his feet on the mat before walking into the deathly quiet hotel.

* * *

  
The lobby was posh, from the plush carpet under their feet to the artwork on the walls. Everything that their torchlight touched screamed to them not to touch, as they walked in the middle of the area.

"Where do we go next?" Donna asked, wondering if the computer worked but she doubted it after spotting it on the counter at the reception desk.

"How about we search the reception desk, there was a clue there last time... hang on, isn't that the old system they have for keys and post?" The Doctor asked, moving around the large desk and looked at the small shelves.

Each had a small compartment that would normally serve for guests keys and mail, but the mail was now littered across the floor like it was thrown there in a hurry while most of the keys were gone except one.

The Doctor reached for the key and turned it over in his hands, "Well I've got a number, 201" He muttered and showed it to his companion.

"Well I guess that will be on the second floor" Donna said, finding a map of the hotel on the reception desk.

"Very tourist friendly this town, maps everywhere! Reminds me of this game that use to be around a few years... would find a map, like the one you're holding to help with navigation, and write notes down" He said as he led the way to the stairs, seeing that the lifts looked out of order. "If I remember right, the game was really irritating, took forever to do! Even for me, but I'm not much of a video game guy... can't sit still long enough"

Donna smiled hearing the Doctor ramble as they climbed up the stairs, she let him talk to take his mind off their current circumstances.

"What was the game called?" She asked, as he stopped for breath.

"Can't remember, been years since I've played it... remind me to try and look for it once we're back in the TARDIS" The Doctor replied and stopped on the second floor, finding a door with a key card slot. "Ah!"

Donna looked around him and groaned, "Great, I didn't see any card keys down there" She said and watched as he tried to use his sonic screwdriver to open the lock.

"Well there doesn't seem to be any power in this building, so if we did find the card keys then I doubt we would be able to get them to work" The Doctor muttered as he worked, changing frequencies occasionally and laughed when the door clicked open.

"Come on" He said, pulling the door open and led the way inside but quickly pushed her back into the stairwell. "Um maybe not that way"

"What is it?" Donna asked, surprised by his reaction.

"Well um... it's..." The Doctor stuttered and shone the torch at the door, seeing the walls had turned blood red on the other side.

"What?!" Donna exclaimed and the loud air siren filled the air, as everything started to turn dark.


	5. Chapter 5

**Shadows of Time and Death**

**Chapter Five**

* * *

A/N : Just a quick word from me, sorry it has taken so long! But its up now, and no trying to kill me please otherwise this will never get updated!  
This is based in between the library episodes ( Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead ) and Midnight - just to let you know!  
Enjoy.  


* * *

  
Harriott threw her body at the door, while scrambling to try and find something to push up against the door as something slammed against it again. She was able to push a heavy table against the door, having pulled it to herself with her foot.

Something growled and threw itself at the door again, the darkness continued to surround her as she pushed against the table as it threatened to move with each bang against the door.

"Go Away!!" Harriott screamed, praying that this darkness would leave soon. She screamed again as a long sharp sword got through the gap of the door, swinging side to side as the monster tried to open the door but soon it disappeared.

She held her breath, listening, hearing the heavy footsteps of the monster as it walked away along the path outside.

A air horn filled the air and she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the adrenaline drain away as the walls around her turned back to normal and the air went back to its usual bright white fog.

Harriott sat down and listened to the area around her, low screams could be heard making her back shudder. _Oh Desmond, please be OK out there!_

* * *

She cringed in feeling the damp fabric of her trousers and shoes with each step, now that the danger of whatever that thing that had chased her was gone, she felt the consequences of jumping into the lake thinking that she saw a figure in the mist ahead of her.

The motor of the small boat Harriott found had giving way only a few short meters from the shore's edge as she had approached , thankfully though inside the boat was a pair of paddles letting her get close to the shore but in her rush to see if the mysterious figure was Desmond, she had jumped in resulting in her trainers and her trousers to just above the knee to get soaked.

But now with the darkness gone again, Harriott searched for her lost lover listening for anything around her and jumped when a fun house burst into life. "Harriott Stevens! This is your lucky day!!" A loud male voice spoke up around her.

Harriott looked at the fun house, it looked like a strangely shaped mansion with a huge clown face making up the door with it's tongue hanging out acting as the carpet. She felt something tug under her feet, realising that she was standing on the plush red carpet half wondering how it spread out that far from the building.

"Come on now!! Don't be shy!" The male voice spoke up again, the tongue moved and wrapped around her before pulling her inside with her screaming as she tried to fight free.

A loud slam echoed around the thick fogged filled air as the large clown face slammed shut trapping the woman inside.

* * *

They grabbed the bannisters, that creaked in the pressure they put on them as they raced down the flights of stairs. Their shoes crashing noisily on the ground litter and tried not to trip over the ripped up carpets, flinching hearing a inhuman roar and a crash.

"Get down!" The Doctor yelled, pulling Donna down as glass flew over their bent bodies, using his coat to shelter themselves.

"What the hell was that?" Donna yelled, her voice shaking from whatever was going on around them as the Doctor shook the glass off his coat.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know... come on!" Doctor replied, taking Donna's hand and threw himself at a door crashing through it.

He looked around at the corridor before pulling his companion down the hallway, hearing the deep footsteps following them down the stairs feeling himself shudder in hearing a low bump of something heavy following the footsteps.

"In here" He said, finding a room and pulled the red head inside.

"Doctor what is --" Donna started to say but was cut off by the Doctor quickly using his sonic screwdriver to lock the door then pressed a hand to her mouth, putting a finger to his own telling her to be quiet.

Donna frowned then froze in hearing heavy footsteps walk along the corridor just on the other side of the door, she tried not to breathe as she listened and glanced at the Time Lord.

He listened and held his breath, hoping whatever he had seen a few floors above them would just go away. He tried to shake the mental image away, wondering what it was as he never seen anything like it before and that scared him.

Donna listened and pushed the Doctor to the floor as a sharp blade sliced through the door, just above where her head was. Her eyes went wide in fear as the blade disappeared before reappearing again, making the hole wider.

She used her hands and feet to push herself away from the door as the sword swung around, the Doctor had bent down low and pushed a heavy chest of draws across the door. "Donna help!" He muttered as he looked around the dimly lit room for something else.

Together they barricaded the door with most of the room's furniture and leaned against it, feeling it shudder against the onslaught.

The air siren screamed, filling the air and the light returned slowly making them sigh wearily.

"We need to find the TARDIS and get out of here" The Doctor whispered, pulling his long legs up and hid his face against his knees.

Donna brought him close in a one armed hug, "We'll find her, then we really need a vacation" She said softly, rubbing his arm through his coat and suit.

Doctor smiled a little, looking up at his companion. "Think you're right Donna, we'll do that once we get out of here" He replied, relaxing against her as they still trembled from the experience they had just been through.

* * *

Navigating through the maze of corridors, after seeing that the original stairwell they had originally used had been mysteriously trashed.

Donna shook her head in seeing the sight, a large gash had been torn right through the middle of the stairs like something big, heavy and sharp had just carved a large ditch down them but what scared her was that it stopped on the floor where they had hid from their mysterious attacker.

"What caused that?" She asked when the Doctor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as they found another locked door.

The Doctor marked off the door on the hotel map, "I don't really want to know Donna, just try and find a way to that room... it was strange wasn't it? That my sonic won't open any of these doors, like they're deadlocked or something" He replied, looking over the map while chewing at the end of the pen he was using.

Donna looked around at the corridor around them, "There is always the fire exit, we haven't tried that yet.. but these are American buildings right?" She asked, walking to the next door and turned the knob.

Instead of the steady thump of hearing it locked, it swung open and revealed a tiny one bedroom with a small bathroom and kitchen attached. One thing that stood out that it was trashed just like everything else in this hotel, they walked in and the Doctor shone the torch around hoping for some sort of clue.

Donna screwed her nose up in seeing the state of the kitchen, "If that is how they treat the kitchen then I dare not look in the bathroom, could be worse than your bedroom" She muttered as she wandered off to the window.

Doctor closed the doors to the cupboard, "Donna, its not that bad in there... my bedroom I mean, I just don't sleep as much as you humans do" He replied as he continued to search around the room, shifting through the scattered papers on the floor, table and bookshelf.

"Does that window open? Might be a fire escape to get up a level as we need to do... if this map is anything to go by" Doctor asked as he joined his companion at the window, taking a look at it with her.

Donna shrugged and undid the catch before pulling it up, finding that it opened with ease. "Now why can't doors open like that for you" She said with a grin, and looked out finding no sight of a fire escape but a window from a building directly opposite.

"Oh! Now, what do we have here? I don't remember seeing any other building when we got here, do you? Must be built behind the hotel, or another wing perhaps" The Doctor said in his exciting and adventurous tone, looking at the ledge then the few short feet jump that he would have to do to get over to the other building.

"You're not going to jump are you? I know these windows are huge and that one seems that it expected us with it wide open, but there's no way that I'm going to jump across" Donna replied, looking at the gap. Even though they were one floor up, still able to see the ground through the ash like fog it would still hurt to land if they failed.

The Doctor grinned and took his coat off, "Hang onto this for me" He said, offering the coat to his companion before walking back a bit for a run up and jumped out of the window to the other across the gap.

Donna held tightly onto the coat and gasped when the Doctor's foot slipped but was saved by the rails either side of the window, but didn't relax until he was safely in the room.

"See? Easy! Now throw the coat over, can you make it?" He asked offering his hand across the gap.

"You're mad you are! There's no way" Donna replied, throwing his long coat over to him.

"OK, I'll see what I can do!" Doctor said, and disappeared into the room looking for something to use as a bridge.

"Just hurry up spaceman!" Donna called, looking around the room nervously.

* * *

Harriott rinsed her mouth out with a bottle of water she had found, she was thankful that it was sealed so it hadn't been tampered with.

She had managed to escape the mad house, she was covered in scratches and dust from getting past the monsters and traps that had filled the building she had been dragged into.

Finding a handgun, she was able to shoot herself out past the monsters and the mirror maze that taunted and tricked her with images of her past and her missing fiancée. But that left her bitter and nauseous, which soon was resolved in a nearby trash can with a bottle of water taken from a nearby food stall.

Harriott felt herself shaking from the shock of escaping the fun house and promised herself when she got out of here with Desmond that she would never go to another funfair ever again.

"Desmond..." She muttered with a small crack in her voice.

"Harriott, come to me" A low voice spoke through the mists.

"Desmond!" Harriott called looking around at the area around her, she fumbled for the torch to help her see through the dense fog. "Desmond, where are you!"

"Field of dreams, come to me my love" Desmond's voice called, echoing around the abandoned fair ground.

Harriott strained to listen as Desmond's echo faded away, "Desmond!!" She screamed until she was hoarse, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Field of dreams..." Harriott croaked and wiped at her eyes before she started her search for the exit to this hellish fun fair.

* * *

"See? There we are! All safe and sound" The Doctor grinned, patting Donna on the shoulders after she had stepped inside the building.

Donna shook her head, "I just lost ten years of my life and you want me to be happy about it?" She muttered shakily, the floorboards that the Doctor had managed to get up off the floor with his sonic screwdriver had worked as a temporarily bridge but as soon as her hand was in his with one of her feet on the window ledge, it had giving way.

"I lost ten years of my life a long time ago, but cheer up Donna Noble! We're safe and sound, now back to our investigation!" The Doctor replied with a grin, and turned around flipping his torch in his hand before shutting it on.

"Now then" He muttered as he took a proper look around the room.

Donna took a deep breath to calm herself down before she either screamed her frustration or slapped the Doctor, either of them felt and sounded like a good idea to her but just not at this time before joining him on his search around the room.

It looked like a mirrored version of the apartment room they were just in, everything including the state of the kitchen.

"Donna, does this seem familiar to you?" The Doctor called, from where he was searching in what Donna could have guessed was the bedroom.

"It does, its exactly like the apartment across from here.. I know that most of them looked a like but this one is just..." Donna trailed off, and spun around looking surprised.

"Weird? I know... Donna, what is it?" Doctor finished for her and joined her into the main room.

Donna kept looking around and shivered, "Didn't you hear that?" She asked looking up at the Doctor then back around the room.

Doctor looked around and listened, "All I hear is us Donna, the fog is absorbing every sound we make" He replied, "Come on, let's see what else there is around here" He offered a hand, which Donna quickly took and let him lead the way out of the room.

The floorboards creaked loudly under their feet, making them breath sharply and watched carefully where they walk.

"Parts of the floor are missing" Donna whispered as they walked lightly, seeing through the holes in the carpet that there were holes underneath.

"Let's just be careful where we step yeah?" The Doctor muttered shinning the torch beam down one of the holes as they past, he saw nothing but darkness or if the lower floorboards were painted black then it was a shade that seemed to soak in the light.

He gave a tiny smile to his companion, feeling her hand squeeze his. "Not letting you go without me Martian" She muttered and felt a floorboard give way under her but was pulled up by the Doctor.

"Well now that was close!" He said shinning the torch down the hole that had appeared behind them. "Have to say this for this apartment block, it is certainly in ruin compared to the other"

Donna nodded and saw in the light of the torch that the wallpaper was peeling away from the walls, with the carpet edges frayed or torn away from the walls. She didn't know what caused it, and she didn't want to know what now that she thought about it.

The Doctor muttered to himself as they continued to walk, shinning the torch at the apartment doors as they walked listening to the floor creak with every step they took.

"Ah! Here we go, 201 at last!" He cried with a grin, and tried to open the door.

Donna looked around as the Doctor entered the room, and before she could walk inside the door slammed shut separating the two of them. "Doctor! Open the door!" She yelled, pounding at the door and twisting the knob.

"I can't! It won't open" Doctor's muffled voice called back, she could hear him try using the sonic screwdriver before stepping back and tried to kick the door down but it didn't move.

She froze in hearing heavy footsteps coming closer from down the hallway, "Doctor, hurry up!" Donna called again, pressing herself against the door pounding with her palm.

* * *

The Doctor cursed and tried a different setting on his sonic screwdriver to get the door open that had swung shut, successfully separating him from his friend.

"Come on, come on!" He called in frustration, kicking the door when his screwdriver failed again.

"Doctor!" Donna's voice called sounding desperate as she continued to try and get in.

"Donna, just hang on!" Doctor called as he looked around the room for something to break the door open with.

He froze in hearing a scream from his companion.

"Donna!!" Doctor yelled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Shadows of Time and Death**

**Chapter Six**

The Doctor groaned as he felt his shoulder throb in pain after ramming it into the thick wooden door that separated him from his companion, he looked around ignoring the pain in his shoulder for now. He searched for anything that would get that door open and rescue his friend.

Fruitless in his search in the immediate area, he opened the cupboard usually hidden by the door and found to his surprise the fire fighting equipment for the apartment or the floor they were on. It didn't really matter to him right now, all that mattered was that Donna was in danger and he needed to rescue her.

Picking up the heavy axe, he grunted a little in feeling the heavy weight before swinging it up to rest on his shoulder. "Donna get away from the door!!" He yelled before swinging the axe blade down, watching it bite into the wood leaving splinters either side as he pulled back and swung again.

Screaming and crashing was heard from the other side of the door, as the Doctor lined up another swing with the heavy axe. He was almost swung backwards in his rush to rescue his friend, hearing the monster on the other side of the door roar loudly.

"Come on!!" He yelled and swung the axe down heavily, and was successful in pulling away a large chunk of the door away.

Looking through the gap, he ducked down quickly as the sword swung around and smashed its way through the damaged door. It wedged in the hole the Doctor was able to make, leaving the monster unable to free his own weapon.

He was stuck to what to do now, he wanted to pull at the sword but he knew if he did that then the giant monster on the other side would pull and cut into his hands. He wanted to continue to chop at the door, to rescue his companion, his friend from the same monster but knew couldn't without risking freeing the sword.

"Donna! Answer me!" The Doctor called, pacing a little in trying to see a better angle through the hole in the door.

"Doctor! You better be getting out here soon! Donna called and screamed as she dodged another attack, it sounded like something in the hall had been thrown at her but the Time Lord couldn't tell what.

"Come on, think! Think!" The Doctor muttered to himself, hitting the back of his head and looked around the room.

"That's it! Hang on!" He called and hoped that his plan would work.

**  
Donna yanked at the door next to her, praying that it would open and save her from the giant monster in front of her.

"That's it! Hang on!" The Doctor yelled, and went quiet in the room near to her.

The giant sword hung out of the hole The Doctor and this monster had made together.

"Whatever you're doing! Do it fast spaceman!" Donna called back and ran past the monster, ducking down below his big head.

All the red-head could call it was a giant pyramid, a giant pyramid for a head with a thin body wearing a filthy apron. The giant sword, currently buried in the door that trapped The Doctor in the apartment, did belong to him originally.

She guessed that it was what caused the giant cuts through the stairs they saw previously and the long gashes in the apartment hallways, from where the monster had tried to swing it around in a chance to get her.

Donna strained her ears in trying to hear any noise coming from her travelling companion, but nothing could be heard about her heartbeat thudding heavily in her ears. She dodged around the monster again, almost crashing into part of his sword seeing that it was almost knocked loose from her careless actions.

"Well that would have been wizard if that came free!" She muttered to herself and looked around for some sort of weapon, even to defend herself with.

The Pyramid Head groaned and lashed out, making Donna scream and fall back. Her hands found the holes in the floor and instantly feel around in the darkness for something, anything to use as a weapon.

A plank of wood came free in the scrabble, with several nails still attached. Taking a deep breath, she swung it at the monster daring herself to get closer and closer with each swing.

Her arms shook when it made contact with the metallic pyramid of the monster's head, she stood back and swung in low swings aiming for the body not wanting to smash her only weapon.

"Well ouch" She muttered and screamed as she jumped back from the monster's reach, as it lunged violently towards her.

"Where are you spaceman!!" Donna called, swinging her improvised weapon at the Pyramid Head monster.

**  
The Doctor groaned and kicked the locked window, the hard glass panes just shook violently and left his foot throbbing painfully. "Well ouch" He muttered, unknowingly echoing his travelling companion.

He pushed aside the throbbing pangs in his foot, knowing that soon his body would have healed them before looking for another way into the building. He had the strangest brainwave that he could crawl along the fire escapes along the outside of the windows to try and find another way into a room and rescue his companion, but he was finding this a challenge.

Especially as his hands were busy keeping grasp of the rails of the fire escapes, and had found a small penlight to use to see by while this darkness spell continued.

The Doctor kept thinking what was causing these hell scenes in the darkness, why everything turned to this raw and harsh reality and yet in the light, it was just abandoned. He had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he should know the answer and yet it was just out of reach to him and that bugged the Time Lord.

He cursed and swung over to the next fire escape, he had to give himself some credit that the skills of swinging between a dozen sets of balconies and fire escapes had improved while trying to get back into the block of apartments.

The Doctor tried his luck with his sonic screwdriver, cursing and keeping a tight hold of the torch between his teeth to guide him and almost cheered when he heard a lock click somewhere close by. He quickly replaced the sonic back in his pocket before trying to lift the window, sliding it up allowing him into the apartment block.

Giving himself no time to celebrate, he ran straight to the door, taking the torch out of his mouth and tried the lock on the apartment door and was surprised when he burst straight out into the hallway.

"Oh" He said with a surprised grin looking at his surroundings.

"Where the hell have you been!" Donna cried in surprise and swung the plank low, hitting the monster's body.  
"Time and place later!" The Doctor said, grabbing the red head's shoulders and forced her into the apartment he had just burst out of, closing the door and with a very quick reaction, pulled his sonic out to lock the door.

"You know the drill! Come on" He ordered his companion and together they barricaded the door, grabbing anything and everything that wasn't nailed down to hold the monster at bay until he got fed up like the last time.

Their breath shuddered as they fought to keep themselves quiet, neither one knew why as they knew the monster knew they were inside this room as they leaned up against their improvised barricade. They listened to the monster's heavy feet shuffle along the corridor, and watched the door shudder violently as it punched the door in a attempt to get through.

Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped and walked away. Straining their ears, The Doctor and Donna could hear a low grinding as the sword was pulled free and before the Pyramid Head started to walk back towards them, the air filled with the loud sound of the air siren.

**  
She had decided that she hated clowns, with a very strong passion. With their tooth filled large grins, the bloody red make up plastered on their faces shone in the bright fair lights. as they walked towards her, until only a hour ago Harriott never used a gun in her life but after discovering a shotgun in a stand nearby, she had no choice but to use it with painful consequences.

Harriott discovered that asides her terrible aim, the gun would lash back with each blast causing her arms and chest to ache terribly. The aim did not matter too much as the clowns were always so close to her when she managed to fire, that there was no way someone would miss hitting them.

Shifting the shotgun so it was pressed into her side then up onto her shoulder, she was able to shoot better and more accurate before starting to run in seeing the far exit promising escape from this mad fair that had suddenly started to attack her when the air siren had filled the air.

The darkness had fled with light returning, but with it, so did the clowns with their spooky, evil glares as they chased after her. Their laughs filled the air along with the echoes of the shotgun blasts, Harriott wondered how much longer she could keep it up with the limited ammunition she had managed to scrabble together from various stores.

_It's like the town is helping me fight these monsters, but why? _She thought to herself as she continued to run, the shotgun being supported by both of her arms which ached terribly from the blasts she had fired.

Screaming and diving under the arms of one of the large clowns, his clothes white but splattered in red from what Harriott hoped wasn't blood, nearly crashing into the exit barriers. She spun around, closing her eyes and fired the shotgun before turning around and scrabbled through the exit barriers ignoring as they creaked loudly as they slowly turned.

As soon as she was free from the turnpikes of the exit, the clowns had mysterious vanished into the mists of the town.

Looking behind her, she quickly fell to her knees gasping in the cold misty air into her burning lungs. The shotgun slipped from her hands as she looked back at the now deserted funfair, where before had been clowns and bright lights.

Her arms shook from where she had fired the shotgun, realising exactly how heavy the gun was or how it had backlashed with each blast. She remembered the clowns were thrown back by the impact of the shot, along with herself like two positively charged magnets.

Harriott shook her head clear, picking up the shotgun before standing up herself. She looked around and sighed, she couldn't make out much as she started to walk away from the fair letting the shotgun swing at her side as she walked.

Looking around, she saw signs of people that once lived here but like the rest of the town it felt to her that they had abandoned it in a great hurry, like something terrible had happened.

Harriott shuddered at the thoughts that filled her mind, in wondering what could have happened here to cause such destruction or chaos to what looked like once a beautiful place to live.

Moving the shotgun up to rest in both hands, she continued to look around and stopped at the abandoned stores for anything that she could use or for clues to her missing lover.

**  
The light came back slowly for them, filling the room to allow the travellers to wearily move back up onto their feet. They looked around the room to see where they had ended up amongst the chaos of trying to doge past the terrifying monster they had just encountered.

Donna winced and was forced to drop a cup, feeling a sharp pain on her hand. The cup bounced on the counter with its crashing sounds echoing around the small kitchen.

"Donna?" The Doctor called from his place in the main room of the hotel, he poked his head around and frowned. "Let me see" He said softly moving forward and looked over the small cut on the red head's hand.

"Just probably a splinter from that plank of wood I used to defend myself... it's nothing" Donna replied, watching as The Doctor examined the cut himself humming to himself as he did so.

"Well it looks clean enough but let's sort this out first before anything else..." He said and looked up at his companion, seeing that she was lost in her thoughts or shock from what had just happened to them.

Donna leaned against the counter, unable to get the vivid image of the giant pyramid head monster out of her head. She barely flinched when she felt someone touch her hand shortly before she was shaken out of her thoughts.

"Hey, stay with me yeah? We'll get through this together. You'll see" The Doctor said having bent down slightly to look into his companion's eyes.

Donna forced herself to smile and nodded, "Y-yeah, it will be fine" She replied, her voice soft before getting a little stronger.

"There then, there we go... let's get your hand cleaned up" The Doctor said and looked around the kitchen, finding a untouched first aid kit to patch up his friend's hand.

"Are you OK?" Donna asked as she flinched but kept her hand still for the time traveller as he cleaned up the small cut as best as he could then wrapped bandages around it to keep it clean.

"I ache a little but probably overdid it in getting to you, I'll be fine though" The Doctor muttered as he focused on the task at hand.

Donna nodded and sighed, "Where next? We tried searching the room but found nothing there" She asked, wondering what this town was going to do to them next.

The Doctor finished up and was about to speak when the quiet apartment filled with a loud static, this caused them to frown and look around for the sound. "It's the Television!" He said stepping into the lounge and found it had switched itself on.

"Well now..." He muttered as he looked at the Television, the light casting shadows slightly before he pulled his sonic screwdriver out to see if he could get any readings to why it had suddenly switched itself on.

But unlike hundreds of times before, it failed to respond to the Time Lord's directions causing him to frown and brought it up to his ear to listen to the mechanics.

"What's wrong with you? You were working just a short while ago" He muttered as he fiddled around with it before sighing and stuffed it back into his suit jacket pocket.

"Maybe its batteries" Donna suggested with a shrug, looking at the Television a little wary.

"It can't be, only performed maintenance on it the other night and it was working perfectly" The Doctor replied, rubbing the back of his neck and sat down on the armchair staring at the Television. "So why would this suddenly start working?"

Donna looked around and walked behind the Television, "It isn't plugged in" She said, moving her hand down the cable and found the power cable following it until she reached the plug.

The Doctor stared at the screen wondering what to do now, he kept staring at the screen and frowned when he thought he saw something. "Donna, is there any wires of any kind attached to the wall somewhere?" He asked, getting his glasses out and put them on.

Donna frowned and shook her head as she carefully navigated around behind the Television, so not to trip up on the carpet or the cables that were covering the floor under her feet. "I can't see any... there's no sign of anything been done to the walls either" She said and stepped around to look at the screen, resting on the back of the armchair The Doctor was sat in.

The Doctor had leaned forward to listen to the static noise coming from the Television.

"Doctor?" Donna asked softly, looking between the Time Lord and the Television. She tried to hear if there was anything in the room before walking around, trying to be careful not to make too much noise as she looked around the room waiting for him to come out of his thoughts.

Doctor groaned and took his glasses off before jumping up onto his feet, "Come on Donna, let's get out of here!" He said and walked over to the door, starting to take the barricade apart to clear the door.

Donna blinked, a little surprised by this turn around but assisted him as best as she could to clear the door then stepped warily out into the hallway. She was surprised to find it was still run down but none of the state it was in during the nightmare time when she had to fight against the giant pyramid headed monster.

She looked back at The Doctor, who shrugged and got his torch out and began to lead the way out of the hotel. He kept testing all the doors but found them locked except the stairwell going up but not down.

"If they think we're going up, then they've got another thing coming" Donna muttered earning a smile from the traveller.

"I have to agree with you there Donna, we're high enough as it is" The Doctor replied remembering how high up they were after his adventurous climbing of the many fire escapes to reunite with his friend, "We need to find a way down.. oh" He said and stopped in front of a lift.

"Is it working? I don't want to risk it unless we have to" Donna said and gave the call button a press, it lit up and the sounds of engines creaked into life.

They both stepped back and looked up at the lights above the lift, watching it rise up until it stopped on the sixth floor. "So sixth floor... well that's a long way from the second floor where we started" The Doctor said as the lift arrived with a ping, and the doors opened to reveal a clean looking elevator car.

"See? Looks safe and sound, so come on" He said and stepped inside, he turned around and offered his hand to Donna but had to quickly pull it back as the doors quickly shut and started its decent.

"Doctor!!" Donna called and looked around before watching the lights above the lift but that soon disappeared, she could still hear the engines of the lift but couldn't tell where it was going to stop.

She had been separated from the Time Lord once again.


End file.
